What are best practices for sound insulation in flex-space buildings when one tenant may run noisy equipment or light manufacturing?
In a flex-space steel building, most cost effective is to insulate both sides of wall and add sound dampening material, add resilient channels or hat tracks on each side, and seal every penetration. Keep mechanical lines in a separate chase and specify solid core doors with acoustic gaskets.
Start with a true demising wall, not just a line of girts. In our flex-space bolt-up steel building kits we can detail a double-stud 6-in frame between red-iron columns, faced on both sides with 26-ga insulated metal panels. Two isolated layers with an air gap should keep shop noise from bleeding next door.
Fill the cavity with insulating and noise dampening material. Run resilient hat channels horizontally so the panel skin floats and can’t transmit vibration. Seal seams with non-hardening acoustic caulk; foam every screw hole.
Any conduit, sprinklers, or HVAC lines should pass through a gypsum-lined service chase, never through the party wall. Because the wall sits inside a 100% steel, no-wood building, nothing warps or shrinks over time, so seals stay tight.
Specify solid-core steel doors, automatic drop seals, and continuous perimeter gasketing. Overhead doors need insulated curtain sections or sectional panels rated STC 28-30 with bottom brush seals.
Noise flanks through the roof, so adding an increased R Value of Insulation can help absorb sound. On the slab, isolate equipment pads with neoprene mats and saw-cut reliefs.